Education Camp @ Mallarpur, Birbhum in July 2013

My experience of Bharat

-  by Krittika Saha

There is no element of surprise in the fact that our country suffers from poverty, malnutrition, exploitation and chronic illness, specially the suburban/village areas. But knowing and experiencing this state of our country are two completely different things. I became aware of this fact, when I embarked on a journey to Mallarpur to assist Kalyan Ashram in their work. We reached Mallarpur at about 11 am and went straight to Kalyan Ashram Boys Hostel where the generous organisation had provided small boys of class V to X with shelter, food, education and basic needs of life. 

On reaching the hostel, I saw the young boys working according to a preset schedule. So disciplined and hard-working, the lifestyle of these little boys reminded me of the contrasting leisurely nature of my childhood. We, the children from metro cities take everything for granted. Our parents provide us with good food and so many facilities and we do not even acknowledge how lucky we are. But these boys were deprived of even the basic needs of life. When I sat down to teach them, much to my surprise, some of them were quite intelligent and were capable of pursuing higher education, given the chance. The boys took care of all our needs from cooking the meals, serving our lunch, making our beds to fetching filtered water from far distance just for our comfort. As afternoon came and the boys just finished their meals, I engaged myself in their simple games and the innocent smile of the boys made me realize how cruel we have been to them.

We have emerged from darkness into the dawn of technology, innovation and comforts of modern civilization and have never looked back on these humble beings of our society. A feeling of guilt and anger struck me and suddenly the feeling that I was doing charity work turned into a feeling of responsibility, a responsibility which we had been running from all our lives. I realized it was at their expense that we were getting all the luxuries of life, while we never even had the mere humanity in us to make sure they got the basic needs off life fulfilled. 

As the day drew to an end, I saw another beautiful practice. The boys hummed 32 "shlokas" in Sanskrit, regarding India, a practice not seen in even the best of institutions in Kolkata. It was, through and through, an enriching and eye-opening experience for me. What I saw and felt created a new side in me. The experience is one, I will remember, hereafter, whenever I succeed in any phase of my life and it will make me come back and carry on my responsibility, rather than running away from it, to make sure their innocence is not exploited.

Different projects of Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram :

Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram's tribal welfare projects can be divided into the following four broad heads . 
These projects are spread all over India and the figures indicate total number of projects in all the states.


A. EDUCATION :

• Hostels - 166 for boys and 36 for girls; 
• Middle and High school - 40; 
• Primary school - 162; 
• Ekal Vidyalay - 1393;  
• Bal Sanskar Kendra - 884; 
• Night schools - 232; 
• Free Coaching classes - 57; 
• Library & Reading rooms - 43 .

B. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT : 

• Agricultural Development Centre - 111; 
• Vocational Training Centre - 44; 
• Self Help Group - 1224; 
• Gram Vikas Kendra - 654 .

C. MEDICAL : 

• Medical Centre - 312;
• Arogya Rakshak - 2385;
• Hospital - 5; 
• Medical Camp - 227 .

D. SANSKAR: 

• Khelkud Kendra - 1737; 
• Satsang Kendra - 3644; 
• Lok-Kala Mandal - 1192 .

Total tribal welfare projects - 14321
Total project locations - 10332
Vanvasi villages in contact - 48448


Tribal Welfare Projects in WEST BENGAL :


 Education : (i) Hostels - 11 for boys and 2 for girls; (ii) Ekal Vidyalay - 152
  
Economic Development : (i) Agricultural Development Centre - 2; (ii) Vocational Training Centre - 3; (iii) Self Help Group - 7; (iv) Gram Vikas Kendra - 23 .


Medical : (i) Medical Centre - 9; (ii) Medical Camp - 3 .


Sanskar : (i) Khelkud Kendra - 124; (ii) Satsang Kendra - 165; .


Total tribal welfare projects - 498
Total project locations - 425
Vanvasi villages in contact - 3489

Projects : Sanskar

1. Khelkud Kendra (1737) : The vanvasis are extremely good in sports like archery etc. These kendras are built to hone and develop their sporting skills. They have successfully produced several national level sportspersons.
2. Satsang Kendra (3644) : Satsang kendras are centres where the vanvasis regularly meet and conduct satsangs, sing hymns etc.
3.  Lok - Kala Mandal (1192) :

Projects: Education

(i) Hostels (boys - 166, girls-36)- छात्त्रावास :

The vanvasis mostly reside in villages far away from main stream society where education facilities are not available. Very often the nearest school for the vanvasi children is as far as 15-20 Kms. away. Commuting such long distances is not possible and also discourages them from attending classes on a regular basis.

To address this problem Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram has constructed hostels for school going children near schools in rural areas . On an average each hostel accommodates 25-30 children. These are children from financially weak backgrounds or those who stay far away from schools. Kalyan ashram bears all their expenses including - boarding, fooding, lodging, schooling etc. There are separate hostels for boys and girls and the children are usually admitted when they have reached classes 5 or 6 and stay till they complete their schools. A strict routine is followed which includes shakha, exercises, studies, games, worship etc. These hostels play a vital role in grooming the vanvasi children and bringing out their hidden talents.

(ii) Primary school (162); (iii) Middle & High school (40) :
These schools are established by Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram and have classes up to high school. Apart from providing education they also help develop cultural and ethical values among the vanvasi children. There are 162 primary schools and 40 middle and high schools all over India.

(iv) Ekal Vidyalay (1393) :
As the name suggests these are basic education centres managed by a 'single teacher' hence the name - Ekal Vidyalay . These vidyalays are established in remote villages where education hasn't reached. There are a total of 1393 Ekal vidyalays including 422 in Jharkhand.


(v) Bal Sanskar Kendra ( Informal education centers, 884) :
These 'kendras' are established to inculcate religious, spiritual and cultural virtues among young vanvasi children. Local young women who have passed at least 8^th standard are selected, trained and then deputed. Two hour's teaching includes cleanliness, prayer, mantra chanting, songs and poems, story telling, sports, basic knowledge and language learning.

There are 882 such kendras (as on June-2008) all over India including 2 in Andaman.

(vi) Night Schools (232) :
We all are aware of the fact that most of the vanvasis and their children depend upon agriculture for their living. They often leave for the fields early morning and it is not possible for the children to attend morning or day schools. Keeping this in mind Kalyan Ashram is running night schools so that the vanvasi children can attend school as well as work on their fields. There are 232 night schools all over India of which 228 are functioning in Orissa.

(vii) Free coaching classes (57) :


(viii) Library & Reading rooms (43) :
kalyan Ashram has established libraries and reading rooms to help the vanvasis develop reading as a hobby. Reading keeps them updated with the rest of the world and also improve their proficiency in English. There are 43 libraries and reading rooms all over India.

Projects : Economic Devepolment

(i) Agricultural Development Centre (111) :
Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy especially in the rural areas. Since most of the vanvasis are illiterate Kalyan Ashram has established centres to educate them about agriculture, modern methods, benefits of High Yielding Variety seeds, mechanisation, fertilisers etc. These centres also act as a forum for the vanvasis to interact and discuss common issues.

(ii) Vocational Training Centre (44) :
Vocational Training centres provide the vanvasis with training in sewing, embroidery, local products etc. These help them generate alternative sources of employment.

(iii) Self - Help Group (1224) :
Self Help groups are formed by Kalyan Ashram to enable the vanvasis protect themselves from exploitation. These groups promote hobbies, employment etc. among them.

(iv) Gram vikas Kendra (654) :
Gram Vikas Kendras are established in vanvasi villages to develop a sense of organisation in daily activities. These kendras focus of internal issues of villages. They serve as forums for villagers to discuss common topics.

Projects : Medical

(i) Medical Centre (312) :


(ii) Arogya Rakshak (2385) :
In areas which lack organised health care centres, Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram has trained select local vanvasi people to administer basic medicines to the vanvasis. These 'Rakshaks' are also very useful during emergencies and have a significant role in developing a disease free environment. They have helped in bringing more and more vanvasi villages under medication.The state of Maharashtra has the higest number of 'arogya rakshaks' - 597.


(iii) Hospital (5) :


(iv) Medical Camp (227) :
This is one of the latest initative of Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram. In a Medical Camp doctors along with several types of medicines and around 50-60 urban volunteers spend 2 days in vanvasi villages. They treat up to 700-800 patients each day for different types of ailments. These camps are held several times an year and the local karyakartas spread news about these camps before hand. Spectacles are also distributed in these medical camps.